Linux Tentacle

If you want to deploy software to Linux servers without using SSH, you need to install Tentacle, a lightweight agent service, on your Linux servers so they can communicate with the Octopus Server.

Requirements

Before you can configure a Linux Tentacle, the Linux server must meet the requirements and the following additional requirements:

  • Octopus Server 2019.8.3 or newer

Linux Tentacle is a .NET application distributed as a self-contained deployment. On most Linux distributions it will just work, but be aware that you will need to install some prerequisites.

Known limitations

Support for ScriptCS and F# scripts are only available with Mono 4 and above. While they require mono installed, they will still execute with the self-contained Calamari.

ScriptCS has not been ported for .NET Core (GitHub issue).

Similarly, the F# interpreter has also not yet been ported for .NET Core (GitHub issue).

ScriptCS does not work on Mono 5.16 and higher. We recommend using Mono 5.14.x.

Downloads

For Debian distributions, there is a .deb package for use with apt-get. On CentOS/Fedora/Redhat distributions, there is an .rpm package for use with yum. We also provide a .tar.gz archive for manual installations. The packages are available from:

The latest release of Linux Tentacle is available for download from:

Installing and configuring Linux Tentacle

Many of the steps described below require elevated permissions, or must be run as a super user using sudo.

Installing Tentacle

Debian/Ubuntu repository
sudo apt update && sudo apt install --no-install-recommends gnupg curl ca-certificates apt-transport-https && \
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings && \
curl -fsSL https://apt.octopus.com/public.key | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/octopus.gpg && \
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/octopus.gpg && \
echo \
  "deb [arch="$(dpkg --print-architecture)" signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/octopus.gpg] https://apt.octopus.com/ \
  stable main" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/octopus.list > /dev/null && \
sudo apt update && sudo apt install tentacle

# for legacy Ubuntu/Debian (< 18.04) use
# sudo apt update && sudo apt install --no-install-recommends gnupg curl ca-certificates apt-transport-https && \
# curl -sSfL https://apt.octopus.com/public.key | sudo apt-key add - && \
# sudo sh -c "echo deb https://apt.octopus.com/ stable main > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/octopus.com.list" && \
# sudo apt update && sudo apt install tentacle

# for Raspbian use
# sh -c "echo 'deb https://apt.octopus.com/ buster main' >> /etc/apt/sources.list"
# apt-get update
# apt-get install tentacle
Redhat/CentOS/Fedora repository
wget https://rpm.octopus.com/tentacle.repo -O /etc/yum.repos.d/tentacle.repo
yum install tentacle -y
Archive
arch="x64"
# arch="arm" # for Raspbian 32-bit
# arch="arm64" # for 64-bit OS on ARM v7+ hardware

wget https://octopus.com/downloads/latest/Linux_$($arch)TarGz/OctopusTentacle -O tentacle-linux_$($arch).tar.gz
#or
curl -L https://octopus.com/downloads/latest/Linux_$($arch)TarGz/OctopusTentacle --output tentacle-linux_$($arch).tar.gz

mkdir /opt/octopus
tar xvzf tentacle-linux_$($arch).tar.gz -C /opt/octopus

Setting up a Tentacle instance

Many instances of Tentacle can be configured on a single machine. To configure an instance run the following setup script:

/opt/octopus/tentacle/configure-tentacle.sh

Additional instances of Tentacle can be created and configured by passing the --instance $instanceName argument to all of the commands listed here.

The installer script does not make any adjustments to firewalls. Be sure to check any ports specified are open on your firewalls. For example port 10933 for listening tentacles.

Running Tentacle

Running Tentacle interactively

Start the Tentacle interactively by running:

/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle run --instance <instance name>

Running Tentacle as a service (systemd)

Tentacle has command line options for configuring a systemd service:

Usage: Tentacle service [<options>]

Where [<options>] is any of:

      --instance=VALUE       Name of the instance to use
      --start                Start the Tentacle service if it is not already
                               running
      --stop                 Stop the Tentacle service if it is running
      --reconfigure          Reconfigure the Tentacle service
      --install              Install the Tentacle service
      --username, --user=VALUE
                             Username to run the service under
                               (DOMAIN\Username format). Only used when --
                               install or --reconfigure are used.
      --uninstall            Uninstall the Tentacle service
      --password=VALUE       Password for the username specified with --
                               username. Only used when --install or --
                               reconfigure are used.
      --dependOn=VALUE

Or one of the common options:

      --help                 Show detailed help for this command

To install and start Tentacle as a service, use the Tentacle service command:

 /opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle service --install --start

Manually configuring Tentacle to run as a service

To manually configure a systemd service, use the following sample unit file:

  1. Create a systemd Unit file to run Tentacle.

    [Unit]
    Description=Octopus Tentacle Server
    After=network.target
    
    [Service]
    Type=simple
    User=root
    ExecStart=/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle run --instance <instance name> --noninteractive
    Restart=always
    
    [Install]
    WantedBy=multi-user.target
  2. Copy the unit file to /etc/systemd/system and give it permissions

    sudo cp tentacle.service /etc/systemd/system/tentacle.service
    sudo chmod 644 /etc/systemd/system/tentacle.service
  3. Start the Tentacle service

    sudo systemctl start tentacle
  4. Use the enable command to ensure that the service start whenever the system boots.

    sudo systemctl enable tentacle

Automatic Tentacle upgrades

Linux Tentacle can be upgraded via the Octopus portal from the Infrastructure ➜ Deployment Targets screen. The upgrade attempts to find a package manager capable of performing the upgrade, and then falls back to extracting a tar.gz archive to the Tentacle installation folder.

The upgrade is attempted in the following order:

  • Attempt to use apt-get
  • Attempt to use yum
  • Extract the bundled tar.gz archive

Uninstall Tentacle

To uninstall (delete) a Tentacle instance run the service --stop --uninstall and then delete-instance commands first:

/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle service --instance <instance name> --stop --uninstall
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle delete-instance --instance <instance name>

The service --stop --uninstall command on the Tentacle will run the following commands to manage the systemd Unit file:

sudo systemctl stop tentacle
sudo systemctl disable tentacle
sudo rm /etc/systemd/system/tentacle.service

Then the working folders and logs can be deleted if they are no longer needed, depending on where you installed them, for instance:

# default locations:
# - installed directory:
cd /opt/octopus/tentacle

# - logs:
cd /etc/octopus

# - application directory:
cd /home/Octopus/Applications

Automation scripts

The following bash scripts install, configure and register Linux Tentacle for use in automated environments:

Note:

  • Many of the steps described below require elevated permissions, or must be run as a super user using sudo.

  • By default, when registering Linux Targets or Workers, the scripts below assume Octopus will communicate with the target or worker using the server hostname (from the $HOSTNAME variable). To provide a different address, consider looking up the hostname/IP address. For example:

    publicIp=$(curl -s https://ifconfig.info)

    You can specify the address when using the register-with command by providing the value to the --publicHostName parameter.

Debian

Listening deployment target
serverUrl="https://my-octopus"   # The url of your Octopus server
thumbprint=""       # The thumbprint of your Octopus Server
apiKey=""           # An Octopus Server api key with permission to add machines
spaceName="Default" # The name of the space to register the Tentacle in
name=$HOSTNAME      # The name of the Tentacle at is will appear in the Octopus portal
environment="Test"  # The environment to register the Tentacle in
role="web server"   # The role to assign to the Tentacle
configFilePath="/etc/octopus/default/tentacle-default.config"
applicationPath="/home/Octopus/Applications/"

sudo apt update && sudo apt install --no-install-recommends gnupg curl ca-certificates apt-transport-https && \
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings && \
curl -fsSL https://apt.octopus.com/public.key | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/octopus.gpg && \
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/octopus.gpg && \
echo \
  "deb [arch="$(dpkg --print-architecture)" signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/octopus.gpg] https://apt.octopus.com/ \
  stable main" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/octopus.list > /dev/null && \
sudo apt update && sudo apt install tentacle

# for legacy Ubuntu/Debian (< 18.04) use
# sudo apt update && sudo apt install --no-install-recommends gnupg curl ca-certificates apt-transport-https && \
# curl -sSfL https://apt.octopus.com/public.key | sudo apt-key add - && \
# sudo sh -c "echo deb https://apt.octopus.com/ stable main > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/octopus.com.list" && \
# sudo apt update && sudo apt install tentacle

/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle create-instance --config "$configFilePath"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle new-certificate --if-blank
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle configure --port 10933 --noListen False --reset-trust --app "$applicationPath"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle configure --trust $thumbprint
echo "Registering the Tentacle $name with server $serverUrl in environment $environment with role $role"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle register-with --server "$serverUrl" --apiKey "$apiKey" --space "$spaceName" --name "$name" --env "$environment" --role "$role"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle service --install --start
Polling deployment target
serverUrl="https://my-octopus"   # The url of your Octopus server
serverCommsPort=10943            # The communication port the Octopus Server is listening on (10943 by default)
apiKey=""           # An Octopus Server api key with permission to add machines
spaceName="Default" # The name of the space to register the Tentacle in
name=$HOSTNAME      # The name of the Tentacle at is will appear in the Octopus portal
environment="Test"  # The environment to register the Tentacle in
role="web server"   # The role to assign to the Tentacle
configFilePath="/etc/octopus/default/tentacle-default.config"
applicationPath="/home/Octopus/Applications/"

sudo apt update && sudo apt install --no-install-recommends gnupg curl ca-certificates apt-transport-https && \
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings && \
curl -fsSL https://apt.octopus.com/public.key | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/octopus.gpg && \
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/octopus.gpg && \
echo \
  "deb [arch="$(dpkg --print-architecture)" signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/octopus.gpg] https://apt.octopus.com/ \
  stable main" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/octopus.list > /dev/null && \
sudo apt update && sudo apt install tentacle

# for legacy Ubuntu/Debian (< 18.04) use
# sudo apt update && sudo apt install --no-install-recommends gnupg curl ca-certificates apt-transport-https && \
# curl -sSfL https://apt.octopus.com/public.key | sudo apt-key add - && \
# sudo sh -c "echo deb https://apt.octopus.com/ stable main > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/octopus.com.list" && \
# sudo apt update && sudo apt install tentacle

/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle create-instance --config "$configFilePath"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle new-certificate --if-blank
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle configure --noListen True --reset-trust --app "$applicationPath"
echo "Registering the Tentacle $name with server $serverUrl in environment $environment with role $role"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle register-with --server "$serverUrl" --apiKey "$apiKey" --space "$spaceName" --name "$name" --env "$environment" --role "$role" --comms-style "TentacleActive" --server-comms-port $serverCommsPort
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle service --install --start
Listening worker
serverUrl="https://my-octopus"   # The url of your Octopus server
thumbprint=""       # The thumbprint of your Octopus Server
apiKey=""           # An Octopus Server api key with permission to add machines
spaceName="Default" # The name of the space to register the Tentacle in
name=$HOSTNAME      # The name of the Tentacle at is will appear in the Octopus portal
workerPool="Default Worker Pool"    # The worker pool to register the Tentacle in
configFilePath="/etc/octopus/default/tentacle-default.config"
applicationPath="/home/Octopus/Applications/"

sudo apt update && sudo apt install --no-install-recommends gnupg curl ca-certificates apt-transport-https && \
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings && \
curl -fsSL https://apt.octopus.com/public.key | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/octopus.gpg && \
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/octopus.gpg && \
echo \
  "deb [arch="$(dpkg --print-architecture)" signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/octopus.gpg] https://apt.octopus.com/ \
  stable main" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/octopus.list > /dev/null && \
sudo apt update && sudo apt install tentacle

# for legacy Ubuntu/Debian (< 18.04) use
# sudo apt update && sudo apt install --no-install-recommends gnupg curl ca-certificates apt-transport-https && \
# curl -sSfL https://apt.octopus.com/public.key | sudo apt-key add - && \
# sudo sh -c "echo deb https://apt.octopus.com/ stable main > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/octopus.com.list" && \
# sudo apt update && sudo apt install tentacle

/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle create-instance --config "$configFilePath"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle new-certificate --if-blank
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle configure --port 10933 --noListen False --reset-trust --app "$applicationPath"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle configure --trust $thumbprint
echo "Registering the Tentacle $name with server $serverUrl in worker pool $workerPool"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle register-worker --server "$serverUrl" --apiKey "$apiKey" --space "$spaceName" --name "$name" --workerPool "$workerPool"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle service --install --start
Polling worker
serverUrl="https://my-octopus"   # The url of your Octopus server
serverCommsPort=10943            # The communication port the Octopus Server is listening on (10943 by default)
apiKey=""           # An Octopus Server api key with permission to add machines
spaceName="Default" # The name of the space to register the Tentacle in
name=$HOSTNAME      # The name of the Tentacle at is will appear in the Octopus portal
workerPool="Default Worker Pool"    # The worker pool to register the Tentacle in
configFilePath="/etc/octopus/default/tentacle-default.config"
applicationPath="/home/Octopus/Applications/"

sudo apt update && sudo apt install --no-install-recommends gnupg curl ca-certificates apt-transport-https && \
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings && \
curl -fsSL https://apt.octopus.com/public.key | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/octopus.gpg && \
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/octopus.gpg && \
echo \
  "deb [arch="$(dpkg --print-architecture)" signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/octopus.gpg] https://apt.octopus.com/ \
  stable main" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/octopus.list > /dev/null && \
sudo apt update && sudo apt install tentacle

# for legacy Ubuntu/Debian (< 18.04) use
# sudo apt update && sudo apt install --no-install-recommends gnupg curl ca-certificates apt-transport-https && \
# curl -sSfL https://apt.octopus.com/public.key | sudo apt-key add - && \
# sudo sh -c "echo deb https://apt.octopus.com/ stable main > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/octopus.com.list" && \
# sudo apt update && sudo apt install tentacle

/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle create-instance --config "$configFilePath"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle new-certificate --if-blank
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle configure --noListen True --reset-trust --app "$applicationPath"
echo "Registering the Tentacle $name with server $serverUrl in worker pool $workerPool"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle register-worker --server "$serverUrl" --apiKey "$apiKey" --space "$spaceName" --name "$name" --workerPool "$workerPool" --comms-style "TentacleActive" --server-comms-port $serverCommsPort
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle service --install --start

CentOS/Fedora/RedHat

Listening deployment target
serverUrl="https://my-octopus"   # The url of your Octous server
thumbprint=""       # The thumbprint of your Octopus Server
apiKey=""           # An Octopus Server api key with permission to add machines
spaceName="Default" # The name of the space to register the Tentacle in
name=$HOSTNAME      # The name of the Tentacle at is will appear in the Octopus portal
environment="Test"  # The environment to register the Tentacle in
role="web server"   # The role to assign to the Tentacle
configFilePath="/etc/octopus/default/tentacle-default.config"
applicationPath="/home/Octopus/Applications/"

curl https://rpm.octopus.com/tentacle.repo -o /etc/yum.repos.d/tentacle.repo
yum install tentacle -y

/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle create-instance --config "$configFilePath"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle new-certificate --if-blank
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle configure --port 10933 --noListen False --reset-trust --app "$applicationPath"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle configure --trust $thumbprint
echo "Registering the Tentacle $name with server $serverUrl in environment $environment with role $role"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle register-with --server "$serverUrl" --apiKey "$apiKey" --space "$spaceName" --name "$name" --env "$environment" --role "$role"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle service --install --start
Polling deployment target
serverUrl="https://my-octopus"   # The url of your Octous server
serverCommsPort=10943            # The communication port the Octopus Server is listening on (10943 by default)
apiKey=""           # An Octopus Server api key with permission to add machines
spaceName="Default" # The name of the space to register the Tentacle in
name=$HOSTNAME      # The name of the Tentacle at is will appear in the Octopus portal
environment="Test"  # The environment to register the Tentacle in
role="web server"   # The role to assign to the Tentacle
configFilePath="/etc/octopus/default/tentacle-default.config"
applicationPath="/home/Octopus/Applications/"

curl https://rpm.octopus.com/tentacle.repo -o /etc/yum.repos.d/tentacle.repo
yum install tentacle -y

/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle create-instance --config "$configFilePath"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle new-certificate --if-blank
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle configure --noListen True --reset-trust --app "$applicationPath"
echo "Registering the Tentacle $name with server $serverUrl in environment $environment with role $role"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle register-with --server "$serverUrl" --apiKey "$apiKey" --space "$spaceName" --name "$name" --env "$environment" --role "$role" --comms-style "TentacleActive" --server-comms-port $serverCommsPort
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle service --install --start
Listening worker
serverUrl="https://my-octopus"   # The url of your Octous server
thumbprint=""       # The thumbprint of your Octopus Server
apiKey=""           # An Octopus Server api key with permission to add machines
spaceName="Default" # The name of the space to register the Tentacle in
name=$HOSTNAME      # The name of the Tentacle at is will appear in the Octopus portal
workerPool="Default Worker Pool"    # The worker pool to register the Tentacle in
configFilePath="/etc/octopus/default/tentacle-default.config"
applicationPath="/home/Octopus/Applications/"

curl https://rpm.octopus.com/tentacle.repo -o /etc/yum.repos.d/tentacle.repo
yum install tentacle -y

/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle create-instance --config "$configFilePath"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle new-certificate --if-blank
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle configure --port 10933 --noListen False --reset-trust --app "$applicationPath"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle configure --trust $thumbprint
echo "Registering the Tentacle $name with server $serverUrl in worker pool $workerPool"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle register-worker --server "$serverUrl" --apiKey "$apiKey" --space "$spaceName" --name "$name" --workerPool "$workerPool"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle service --install --start
Polling worker
serverUrl="https://my-octopus"   # The url of your Octous server
serverCommsPort=10943            # The communication port the Octopus Server is listening on (10943 by default)
apiKey=""           # An Octopus Server api key with permission to add machines
spaceName="Default" # The name of the space to register the Tentacle in
name=$HOSTNAME      # The name of the Tentacle at is will appear in the Octopus portal
workerPool="Default Worker Pool"    # The worker pool to register the Tentacle in
configFilePath="/etc/octopus/default/tentacle-default.config"
applicationPath="/home/Octopus/Applications/"

curl https://rpm.octopus.com/tentacle.repo -o /etc/yum.repos.d/tentacle.repo
yum install tentacle -y

/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle create-instance --config "$configFilePath"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle new-certificate --if-blank
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle configure --noListen True --reset-trust --app "$applicationPath"
echo "Registering the Tentacle $name with server $serverUrl in worker pool $workerPool"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle register-worker --server "$serverUrl" --apiKey "$apiKey" --space "$spaceName" --name "$name" --workerPool "$workerPool" --comms-style "TentacleActive" --server-comms-port $serverCommsPort
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle service --install --start

Archive

Note:

  • Linux Arm and Arm64 support is currently experimental.
  • Requires Octopus Server 2020.5.0+
  • Ensure you are using the correct architecture value for your platform (x64, arm, arm64).
  • Uncomment the appropriate arch variable in the script.
Listening deployment target
serverUrl="https://my-octopus"   # The url of your Octous server
thumbprint=""       # The thumbprint of your Octopus Server
apiKey=""           # An Octopus Server api key with permission to add machines
spaceName="Default" # The name of the space to register the Tentacle in
name=$HOSTNAME      # The name of the Tentacle at is will appear in the Octopus portal
environment="Test"  # The environment to register the Tentacle in
role="web server"   # The role to assign to the Tentacle
configFilePath="/etc/octopus/default/tentacle-default.config"
applicationPath="/home/Octopus/Applications/"

arch="x64" 
# arch="arm" # for Raspbian 32-bit
# arch="arm64" # for 64-bit OS on ARM v7+ hardware

curl -L https://octopus.com/downloads/latest/Linux_${arch}TarGz/OctopusTentacle --output tentacle-linux_${arch}.tar.gz

mkdir /opt/octopus
tar xvzf tentacle-linux_${arch}.tar.gz -C /opt/octopus

/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle create-instance --config "$configFilePath"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle new-certificate --if-blank
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle configure --port 10933 --noListen False --reset-trust --app "$applicationPath"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle configure --trust $thumbprint
echo "Registering the Tentacle $name with server $serverUrl in environment $environment with role $role"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle register-with --server "$serverUrl" --apiKey "$apiKey" --space "$spaceName" --name "$name" --env "$environment" --role "$role"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle service --install --start
Polling deployment target
serverUrl="https://my-octopus"   # The url of your Octous server
serverCommsPort=10943            # The communication port the Octopus Server is listening on (10943 by default)
apiKey=""           # An Octopus Server api key with permission to add machines
spaceName="Default" # The name of the space to register the Tentacle in
name=$HOSTNAME      # The name of the Tentacle at is will appear in the Octopus portal
environment="Test"  # The environment to register the Tentacle in
role="web server"   # The role to assign to the Tentacle
configFilePath="/etc/octopus/default/tentacle-default.config"
applicationPath="/home/Octopus/Applications/"

arch="x64" 
# arch="arm" # for Raspbian 32-bit
# arch="arm64" # for 64-bit OS on ARM v7+ hardware

curl -L https://octopus.com/downloads/latest/Linux_${arch}TarGz/OctopusTentacle --output tentacle-linux_${arch}.tar.gz

mkdir /opt/octopus
tar xvzf tentacle-linux_${arch}.tar.gz -C /opt/octopus

/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle create-instance --config "$configFilePath"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle new-certificate --if-blank
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle configure --noListen True --reset-trust --app "$applicationPath"
echo "Registering the Tentacle $name with server $serverUrl in environment $environment with role $role"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle register-with --server "$serverUrl" --apiKey "$apiKey" --space "$spaceName" --name "$name" --env "$environment" --role "$role" --comms-style "TentacleActive" --server-comms-port $serverCommsPort 
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle service --install --start
Listening worker
serverUrl="https://my-octopus"   # The url of your Octous server
thumbprint=""       # The thumbprint of your Octopus Server
apiKey=""           # An Octopus Server api key with permission to add machines
spaceName="Default" # The name of the space to register the Tentacle in
name=$HOSTNAME      # The name of the Tentacle at is will appear in the Octopus portal
workerPool="Default Worker Pool"    # The worker pool to register the Tentacle in
configFilePath="/etc/octopus/default/tentacle-default.config"
applicationPath="/home/Octopus/Applications/"

arch="x64" 
# arch="arm" # for Raspbian 32-bit
# arch="arm64" # for 64-bit OS on ARM v7+ hardware

curl -L https://octopus.com/downloads/latest/Linux_${arch}TarGz/OctopusTentacle --output tentacle-linux_${arch}.tar.gz

mkdir /opt/octopus
tar xvzf tentacle-linux_${arch}.tar.gz -C /opt/octopus

/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle create-instance --config "$configFilePath"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle new-certificate --if-blank
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle configure --port 10933 --noListen False --reset-trust --app "$applicationPath"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle configure --trust $thumbprint
echo "Registering the Tentacle $name with server $serverUrl in worker pool $workerPool"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle register-worker --server "$serverUrl" --apiKey "$apiKey" --space "$spaceName" --name "$name" --workerPool "$workerPool" --space "$spaceName"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle service --install --start
Polling worker
serverUrl="https://my-octopus"   # The url of your Octous server
serverCommsPort=10943            # The communication port the Octopus Server is listening on (10943 by default)
apiKey=""           # An Octopus Server api key with permission to add machines
spaceName="Default" # The name of the space to register the Tentacle in
name=$HOSTNAME      # The name of the Tentacle at is will appear in the Octopus portal
workerPool="Default Worker Pool"    # The worker pool to register the Tentacle in
configFilePath="/etc/octopus/default/tentacle-default.config"
applicationPath="/home/Octopus/Applications/"

arch="x64" 
# arch="arm" # for Raspbian 32-bit
# arch="arm64" # for 64-bit OS on ARM v7+ hardware

curl -L https://octopus.com/downloads/latest/Linux_${arch}TarGz/OctopusTentacle --output tentacle-linux_${arch}.tar.gz

mkdir /opt/octopus
tar xvzf tentacle-linux_${arch}.tar.gz -C /opt/octopus

/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle create-instance --config "$configFilePath"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle new-certificate --if-blank
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle configure --noListen True --reset-trust --app "$applicationPath"
echo "Registering the Tentacle $name with server $serverUrl in worker pool $workerPool"
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle register-worker --server "$serverUrl" --apiKey "$apiKey" --space "$spaceName" --name "$name" --workerPool "$workerPool" --comms-style "TentacleActive" --server-comms-port $serverCommsPort
/opt/octopus/tentacle/Tentacle service --install --start

Rootless Instance Creation

Creating a named instance with the --instance parameter as shown in the examples above will register the instance details in a central registry to allow it to be easily managed via its unique name. Access to this central registry on the target machine is under C:\ProgramData\Octopus on Windows and /etc/octopus on other Platforms. For some high-security low-trust environments, access to these locations may not be possible, so Octopus supports creating Tentacle instances that isolate all their configuration in a single directory.

Omitting the --instance and --configuration parameters from the create-instance command will create the Tentacle.config configuration file in the current working directory of the executing process. As such, it will not require any elevated permissions to create. However, relevant OS permissions may still be necessary depending on the ports used. To manage this instance, all ensuing commands are required to be run either with the executable being invoked from the context of the initial configuration directory or with the --config parameter pointing to the configuration file that was created in that directory.

For example, running the following commands:

mkdir ~/mytentacle && cd ~/mytentacle
tentacle create-instance

will create a Tentacle configuration file in ~/mytentacle without needing access to the shared registry (typically stored on Linux at /etc/octopus). Subsequent commands to this instance can be performed by running the command directly from that location:

cd ~/mytentacle
tentacle configure --trust F9EFD9D31A04767AD73869F89408F587E12CB23C

Service Limitations

Due to the non-uniquely-named nature of these instances, only one such instance type can be registered as a service at any given time. An optional mechanism for running this instance is to use the agent command to start and run the Tentacle process inline. The delete-instance command will also have no effect, its purpose being largely to remove the instance details from the registry and preserving the configuration on disk.

Disabling weak TLS protocols

To harden the TLS implementation used, review our documentation on Disabling weak TLS protocols.

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Page updated on Friday, March 22, 2024